In the Midwest.

State To Poison Horicon Fish

HORICON, WISCONSIN — At least 1 million fish are expected to be poisoned to death in Horicon Marsh this winter as part of a state plan to kill off carp.

The state Department of Natural Resources plans to poison the fish by drilling thousands of holes in the ice of Horicon Marsh and squirting and spraying the chemical rotenone.

DNR wildlife manager Andy Nelson predicts the process will kill 99 percent of the fish in Horicon Marsh. The DNR plans to bring in new fish starting in the spring, including at least one adult pike per acre of marsh.

The DNR says it will introduce 1 million pike fry and tens of thousands of largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill and channel catfish fingerlings.

The agency hopes the elimination of carp will restore the vegetation and overall habitat of Horicon Marsh, a 32,000-acre former lake that was gouged out by glaciers and now serves as a wildlife refuge.